Organizing working images, archiving all images, what approach to take?

I'm curious to know how others are dealing with long term storage of
digital images? I'll lay out some of the factors as I see them.

I'm using a 5D, shooting raw most of the time.
Primary software is Photoshop CS2 and Canon's Digital Photo Professional
I tend to use 4gb memory

There are a lot of large files to grapple with.
I want to keep all images 'forever'.
I need to find archived images.
I would like to view thumbnails of archived images.
There are many images that are very similiar.
Some of the images are chosen to process further.
The images that get attention end up as jpg or tiff.

My current system is approx like so:
Return from a shooting session with 2 4gb chips of images.
Copy each chip to separate folder on workstation's hdd.
Folder names reflect date and subject/location (2008-01-18 Death Valley)
Create dvd of each folder, label by date and subject/location.
Select some raw images to work on, move them to working dir.
I usually retain the numeric tag that the camera assigns to an image
through the processing stage of an image, until it gets published. This
helps me keep track of which raw image was the source.
Eventually when workstation hdd are crammed, have to delete older
folders containing raw images.

It's an ok system. Issues I see a
DVD media has limited lifespan so eventually all will turn to dust.
DVD software/hardware still seem very flakey to me; I'm never sure a
copy won't be corrupted or somehow unreadable.
Even if I make 2 copies of images, if one fails other might fail for the
same reason.
Once on dvd it's hard to view thumbnails, and thumbnails are important
when sifting older images for variations on a theme.
It'd be ideal if thumbnails were available on my workstation for all
archived images.
Tried using external hdds for storage but still questions re durability
etc, aside from cost.

I'm a programmer so I may be able to write something that could help
with whatever process I end up using over time, if there isn't already
such software. But I'm very interested to hear what others are doing
with image management.

nano wrote:
I'm curious to know how others are dealing with long term storage of
digital images? I'll lay out some of the factors as I see them.

I'm using a 5D, shooting raw most of the time.
Primary software is Photoshop CS2 and Canon's Digital Photo Professional
I tend to use 4gb memory

There are a lot of large files to grapple with.
I want to keep all images 'forever'.
I need to find archived images.
I would like to view thumbnails of archived images.
There are many images that are very similiar.
Some of the images are chosen to process further.
The images that get attention end up as jpg or tiff.

My current system is approx like so:
Return from a shooting session with 2 4gb chips of images.
Copy each chip to separate folder on workstation's hdd.
Folder names reflect date and subject/location (2008-01-18 Death Valley)
Create dvd of each folder, label by date and subject/location.
Select some raw images to work on, move them to working dir.
I usually retain the numeric tag that the camera assigns to an image
through the processing stage of an image, until it gets published. This
helps me keep track of which raw image was the source.

I keep those numbers with all versions. An annotated web gallery makes
the best searchable thumbnail archive. I also make full pixel crops in
these galleries which is handy to see if I really had that shot sharp
enough or it was cropped, etc.

Tried using external hdds for storage but still questions re durability
etc, aside from cost.

A pair of external drives. Replace when one fails. DVDs are just too
much hassle.

I'm a programmer so I may be able to write something that could help
with whatever process I end up using over time, if there isn't already
such software. But I'm very interested to hear what others are doing
with image management.

You can extract low quality full size jpegs from all the raw files with
some command line programs, or even maybe a batch routine for irfanview
to make smaller thumbnails to keep all the archives on your workstation.

In article ,
nano wrote:

I'm curious to know how others are dealing with long term storage of
digital images? I'll lay out some of the factors as I see them.

I'm using a 5D, shooting raw most of the time.
Primary software is Photoshop CS2 and Canon's Digital Photo Professional
I tend to use 4gb memory

There are a lot of large files to grapple with.
I want to keep all images 'forever'.
I need to find archived images.
I would like to view thumbnails of archived images.
There are many images that are very similiar.
Some of the images are chosen to process further.
The images that get attention end up as jpg or tiff.

My current system is approx like so:
Return from a shooting session with 2 4gb chips of images.
Copy each chip to separate folder on workstation's hdd.
Folder names reflect date and subject/location (2008-01-18 Death Valley)
Create dvd of each folder, label by date and subject/location.
Select some raw images to work on, move them to working dir.
I usually retain the numeric tag that the camera assigns to an image
through the processing stage of an image, until it gets published. This
helps me keep track of which raw image was the source.
Eventually when workstation hdd are crammed, have to delete older
folders containing raw images.

It's an ok system. Issues I see a
DVD media has limited lifespan so eventually all will turn to dust.
DVD software/hardware still seem very flakey to me; I'm never sure a
copy won't be corrupted or somehow unreadable.
Even if I make 2 copies of images, if one fails other might fail for the
same reason.
Once on dvd it's hard to view thumbnails, and thumbnails are important
when sifting older images for variations on a theme.
It'd be ideal if thumbnails were available on my workstation for all
archived images.
Tried using external hdds for storage but still questions re durability
etc, aside from cost.

I'm a programmer so I may be able to write something that could help
with whatever process I end up using over time, if there isn't already
such software. But I'm very interested to hear what others are doing
with image management.


You need a DAM program (Digital Asset Management). After quite a bit of
research I settled on Light-room. There are a number of others, most
have a downloadable trial copy. My computer was old so quite a few would
not function with the about of Ram I had I ended up making my
purchase shortly after buying the new computer. I bought CS3 as an
upgrade and Light Room for the reasons yo describe.

--
Reality is a picture perfected and never looking back.

In article ,
TH O wrote:

In article
,
____ wrote:

In article ,
nano wrote:

I'm curious to know how others are dealing with long term storage of
digital images? I'll lay out some of the factors as I see them.

I'm using a 5D, shooting raw most of the time.
Primary software is Photoshop CS2 and Canon's Digital Photo Professional
I tend to use 4gb memory

There are a lot of large files to grapple with.
I want to keep all images 'forever'.
I need to find archived images.
I would like to view thumbnails of archived images.
There are many images that are very similiar.
Some of the images are chosen to process further.
The images that get attention end up as jpg or tiff.

My current system is approx like so:
Return from a shooting session with 2 4gb chips of images.
Copy each chip to separate folder on workstation's hdd.
Folder names reflect date and subject/location (2008-01-18 Death Valley)
Create dvd of each folder, label by date and subject/location.
Select some raw images to work on, move them to working dir.
I usually retain the numeric tag that the camera assigns to an image
through the processing stage of an image, until it gets published. This
helps me keep track of which raw image was the source.
Eventually when workstation hdd are crammed, have to delete older
folders containing raw images.

It's an ok system. Issues I see a
DVD media has limited lifespan so eventually all will turn to dust.
DVD software/hardware still seem very flakey to me; I'm never sure a
copy won't be corrupted or somehow unreadable.
Even if I make 2 copies of images, if one fails other might fail for the
same reason.
Once on dvd it's hard to view thumbnails, and thumbnails are important
when sifting older images for variations on a theme.
It'd be ideal if thumbnails were available on my workstation for all
archived images.
Tried using external hdds for storage but still questions re durability
etc, aside from cost.

I'm a programmer so I may be able to write something that could help
with whatever process I end up using over time, if there isn't already
such software. But I'm very interested to hear what others are doing
with image management.


You need a DAM program (Digital Asset Management). After quite a bit of

I agree. I'd google Digital Asset Management ... you'll find one book
and a ton of information, much more than we could tell you in replies.
There's a couple of forums out there too. I think one may be on the
website of the author who wrote the DAM - Digital Asset Management book.

Good luck.

Scott Kelby has a VG book on Light room, I forgot to mention- I hve not
finished the book as of yet-but it is very detailed.

--
Reality is a picture perfected and never looking back.

In article ,
lid says...
I agree. I'd google Digital Asset Management ... you'll find one book
and a ton of information, much more than we could tell you in replies.
There's a couple of forums out there too. I think one may be on the
website of the author who wrote the DAM - Digital Asset Management book.

Good luck.

One aspect of the various DAMs that I'm not sure of (I've looked at
lightroom and iMatch now) that is at the core of what might be shaping
up into a 'plan', is can they create thumbnail galleries, or catalogs of
any type, for storage that is off line?

I'm still not sure exactly what approach I'm going to take re the
physical storage of the files, but the post by Paul Furman makes a lot
of sense, that is to keep identical copies of the original images on two
separate external hard disks. There will be more than one pair of these
disks, and they'd not always be connected. But it'd be ideal to have the
cataloge or thumgnail gallery available on the main workstation, for all
archived images, even if the disk is not connected. Can they do that?
Most of the stuff I've read deals with organizing images, even
processing them, and that's fine, but my #1 issue is archiving, being
able to reference those archives in a transparent manner.

nano wrote in
.net:



One aspect of the various DAMs that I'm not sure of (I've looked at
lightroom and iMatch now) that is at the core of what might be shaping
up into a 'plan', is can they create thumbnail galleries, or catalogs
of any type, for storage that is off line?



If you're on a PC, ThumbsPlus (http://www.cerious.com/) can do this.
It's shareware, so you can try it out first.

Mark.

--
While I'll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go on making
the same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short
of deliberate.--V.

nano wrote:

But it'd be ideal to have the
cataloge or thumgnail gallery available on the main workstation, for all
archived images, even if the disk is not connected. Can they do that?
Most of the stuff I've read deals with organizing images, even
processing them, and that's fine, but my #1 issue is archiving, being
able to reference those archives in a transparent manner.

With Lightroom, when I do this, I simply delete the actual images. Then
I have access to HQ previews, keywording, IPTC data, and EXIF. This
provides great reference, but not access for editing in the easiest manner.

--
John McWilliams

In article ,
John McWilliams wrote:

nano wrote:

But it'd be ideal to have the
cataloge or thumgnail gallery available on the main workstation, for all
archived images, even if the disk is not connected. Can they do that?
Most of the stuff I've read deals with organizing images, even
processing them, and that's fine, but my #1 issue is archiving, being
able to reference those archives in a transparent manner.

With Lightroom, when I do this, I simply delete the actual images. Then
I have access to HQ previews, keywording, IPTC data, and EXIF. This
provides great reference, but not access for editing in the easiest manner.

I have PS CS3 which interfaces that you can open and save edits back
into Light room. I bought them both at the same time. I like LR better
than bridge.

--
Reality is a picture perfected and never looking back.

So, you are using a 5D. You are also a programmer who maybe able to write
something that could help?

I really don't think so. I apologies if I am being harsh.



"nano" wrote in message
.net...
I'm curious to know how others are dealing with long term storage of
digital images? I'll lay out some of the factors as I see them.

I'm using a 5D, shooting raw most of the time.
Primary software is Photoshop CS2 and Canon's Digital Photo Professional
I tend to use 4gb memory

There are a lot of large files to grapple with.
I want to keep all images 'forever'.
I need to find archived images.
I would like to view thumbnails of archived images.
There are many images that are very similiar.
Some of the images are chosen to process further.
The images that get attention end up as jpg or tiff.

My current system is approx like so:
Return from a shooting session with 2 4gb chips of images.
Copy each chip to separate folder on workstation's hdd.
Folder names reflect date and subject/location (2008-01-18 Death Valley)
Create dvd of each folder, label by date and subject/location.
Select some raw images to work on, move them to working dir.
I usually retain the numeric tag that the camera assigns to an image
through the processing stage of an image, until it gets published. This
helps me keep track of which raw image was the source.
Eventually when workstation hdd are crammed, have to delete older
folders containing raw images.

It's an ok system. Issues I see a
DVD media has limited lifespan so eventually all will turn to dust.
DVD software/hardware still seem very flakey to me; I'm never sure a
copy won't be corrupted or somehow unreadable.
Even if I make 2 copies of images, if one fails other might fail for the
same reason.
Once on dvd it's hard to view thumbnails, and thumbnails are important
when sifting older images for variations on a theme.
It'd be ideal if thumbnails were available on my workstation for all
archived images.
Tried using external hdds for storage but still questions re durability
etc, aside from cost.

I'm a programmer so I may be able to write something that could help
with whatever process I end up using over time, if there isn't already
such software. But I'm very interested to hear what others are doing
with image management.

OK, I'm curious, is there something logically impossible about owning a
5D and as a programmer being able to write something that helps with
archiving images?

Your posting might seem harsh to someone that has a clue what you're
about, but I'm just puzzled.

In article ,
says...
So, you are using a 5D. You are also a programmer who maybe able to write
something that could help?

I really don't think so. I apologies if I am being harsh.



"nano" wrote in message
.net...
I'm curious to know how others are dealing with long term storage of
digital images? I'll lay out some of the factors as I see them.

I'm using a 5D, shooting raw most of the time.
Primary software is Photoshop CS2 and Canon's Digital Photo Professional
I tend to use 4gb memory

There are a lot of large files to grapple with.
I want to keep all images 'forever'.
I need to find archived images.
I would like to view thumbnails of archived images.
There are many images that are very similiar.
Some of the images are chosen to process further.
The images that get attention end up as jpg or tiff.

My current system is approx like so:
Return from a shooting session with 2 4gb chips of images.
Copy each chip to separate folder on workstation's hdd.
Folder names reflect date and subject/location (2008-01-18 Death Valley)
Create dvd of each folder, label by date and subject/location.
Select some raw images to work on, move them to working dir.
I usually retain the numeric tag that the camera assigns to an image
through the processing stage of an image, until it gets published. This
helps me keep track of which raw image was the source.
Eventually when workstation hdd are crammed, have to delete older
folders containing raw images.

It's an ok system. Issues I see a
DVD media has limited lifespan so eventually all will turn to dust.
DVD software/hardware still seem very flakey to me; I'm never sure a
copy won't be corrupted or somehow unreadable.
Even if I make 2 copies of images, if one fails other might fail for the
same reason.
Once on dvd it's hard to view thumbnails, and thumbnails are important
when sifting older images for variations on a theme.
It'd be ideal if thumbnails were available on my workstation for all
archived images.
Tried using external hdds for storage but still questions re durability
etc, aside from cost.

I'm a programmer so I may be able to write something that could help